In its last budget submission
to Congress, the FBI announced that from now on investigating
internal security, terrorism and major white collar crime matters
that threatened the nation's economy would be the agency's primary
concern. As has always been its way, the FBI provided little concrete
information about what this this new policy meant to the American
people. Information drawn from three data sources outside the
FBI, however, offered some revealing if indirect insights. Data
from the Office of Personnel Management showed that the number
of FBI intelligence officers nearly quintupled during the Clinton
Administration. Data from the Attorney General show that warrants
for national security surveillance of spies and terrorists were
at an all time high. And data from the Executive Office of U.S.
Attorneys indicated that in 1998 only 45 of the FBI's 2,730 convictions
involved internal security and terrorism. Newsday's Tom Brune
and AP's Michael J. Sniffen, picking up on the new edition of
TRAC.